HG the Aftermath
by Nagatsuki Nura
Summary: Have you ever imagine Peeta acting cold to Katniss? No? Well, here you go. Takes place after the 74th Hunger Games during the Victory Tour. Rated T just just in case but turned into M in the final chapter.
1. First chapter

**Have you ever imagined Peeta acting cold towards Katniss? No? Well here you go. The events after the 74****th**** Hunger Games during the Victory Tour. This is my first fanfiction so please go easy on me.**

"Peeta, say something," Katniss pleaded as they were in the train on their Victory Tour after the 74th Hunger Games.

Peeta was facing towards the window of the train while Katniss was sitting in front of him and staring at him. His right hand on his chin while the other was hanging on the armchair.

"Peeta," she whispered. She was feeling bad for what she did to him: lying to him in the arena, playing with his feelings, making him lose his leg.

He turned his head to face Katniss who was looking straight into his eyes. He was angry, but not her but himself. For getting tricked in the arena, how stupid he was to think that Katniss, the Girl On Fire to easily fallen for a weak baker like him. "What do you want me to say?" He asked, his voice hollow.

"I don't know. You're the one who's good in words," she replied without thinking. Somehow she wanted to take her words back.

"I have nothing to say right now." He turned his head back towards the window.

She continued staring into his blue eyes. They used to be beautiful, calm as the sky and so deep that she thought she could get lost into them forever. But now they are empty as the void and full of anger. It was her fault. "Look, I'm-" she said but the train finally stopped at District 4 and the words she wanted to say stuck in her throat.

Peeta stood up and walked towards the door wordlessly, she followed behind him. They stopped to take a deep breath near the door. Both of them were nervous but she knew that he wouldn't screw things up.

Then she saw Peeta extend his hand to her, "One more time," he said, "for the audience?"

Without any hesitation, she grabbed his hand tightly, to know how good it feels to entwine their fingers together again after a few weeks after the Game. It felt like months for her.

As they exited the train, they were welcomed with cameras and a group of screaming people. Most of them screamed, "Kiss her, Peeta! Kiss her!"

**What would Peeta do? Leave her in the group of people alone? Or kiss her with a half-hearted kiss? Read the next chapter. Read and review please. Thank you.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2, enjoy. Read and review please :) Thank you.**

One of Peeta's hands grabbed Katniss' waist and pulled her closer to him while the other supported her head as he laid her backwards. Very gently, he touched his lips against hers. The cameras began to flash and took their picture.

She felt dizzy the moment when he kissed her. She was confused about her feelings for Peeta. Was it love? Of course she loved him but what kind of love? Love for a friend? She didn't know.

When she parted her lips, Peeta began to pull away and smiled. She knew it was for the cameras and the people of Panem. She knew what to do so she pulled Peeta's face back to hers and kissed him on the cheek. People sighed, "Aw…"

He stood her up slowly but she still felt dizzy and she had to cling on him until she regained her balance. She felt Peeta's arm wound around her shoulder to keep her steady as they walked towards the crowd.

With the help of the Capitol's guards, they managed to get out of the crowd and they spotted Haymitch waiting for them.

"Hey, good to see you guys again," Haymitch greeted them.

"Hello, Haymitch," both Katniss and Peeta said at the same time and turned to face each other.

She expected for him to laugh or at least chuckle, instead he just smiled which was better than nothing, but it was a sad smile.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked.

"Yeah," she replied but ended up regretting it because the moment she said it, his arm around her shoulder loosened.

To close the gap between them, she put her arm around his waist to pull him closer and put her head on his shoulder.

When they entered District 4's Capitol Building, they stopped at the hall and Peeta immediately released Katniss' shoulder and walked towards his room.

"Someone's mad," Haymitch said with a sense of humor.

Katniss didn't find it funny so she used her elbow to hit his waist, "That's not funny."

"I didn't say it was funny," he said as he rubbed his waist with his right hand.

"Well, it's your fault anyway to come up with that stupid plan."

"Stupid? That plan saved both of your lives!"

"Well..."

"Besides, you should've just told him in the arena about the plan by just whispering but I doubt you'd do that."

By the time he stopped talking, the hall went completely silent.

"I'm going to my room," she whispered and walked towards the stairs which led to the second floor where her room was.

On her way, she passed Peeta's room which its door was slightly open.

**Good point, Haymitch. Remember R&R! More to come in the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the reviews. I totally appreciate it. Here's the 3****rd**** chapter.**

Before she entered the room, she knocked the door but nobody answered. She walked slowly and pushed the door open and saw Peeta sleeping on his bed. His hands were behind his head, his right leg dangling on his left. He had a frown on his face. Silently, she walked closer and sat on the bed next to him. She raised her hand and her fingertips brushed his cheek lightly. Then she leaned closer to his face. He was beautiful. _How come she never noticed that? _The blonde hair which had the colour of a luxurious gold and his eyelashes were actually long and had the same golden colour. His lips were slightly parted and his breath smelt like cinnamon. To inhale more of the sweet scent, she leaned closer.

She accidentally bumped her forehead onto his and woke him up. He opened his eyes widely. Very quickly, he rolled and pinned her on the bed, his left hand choked her neck while his right was in fist, ready to hit her.

She was too shocked that she just laid there, not moving.

Before he hit her, he realized the person he was pinning down was Katniss. He released his grip around his neck, shaking.

"Sorry," he apologized with a heavy guilt in his voice.

"No, I'm sorry for scaring you," she said while she was massaging her neck, knowing that he was having a nightmare in the arena again.

Now they noticed that they were in a very awkward position: him on top of her. Peeta quickly pushed himself away and sat next to her.

She sat up, still massaging her neck, feeling how strong Peeta was.

The room was in a complete silence and the awkward feeling when he was pinning her down rushed into their minds like lightning.

"What were you doing here?" He began to break the silence that consumed the room for a few minutes.

"I was just checking if you were okay or not," she said, fidgeting her thumbs.

"Well, I'm fine. Thanks for the concern."

The silence returned right after he finished his sentence.

"Sorry for pinning you down just now," he apologized again, staring at the crumbled bed sheet.

"It's okay," she said, looking down, "actually, I can kinda like it when you pin me down like that."

He turned his head and looked at her, eyes opened wide.

"No! I didn't mean it like that!" She shouted. She felt her cheeks get hotter than ever. "It's just that... I like to feel your body pressed against mine."

That didn't help anything, it just made things worse till Peeta opened his mouth wide in disbelief.

She was too panicked that she couldn't find the right words to describe her feelings, "I mean... um..."

"Do you want to sleep with me again?" He guessed, remembering the night in the train when Katniss had her first nightmare which was also the first night he came to calm her down and slept with her.

"Yeah," she said, not thinking again, "to chase away the nightmares."

He chuckled and this was a good news for her because Peeta wasn't totally changed yet. The caring, gentle and sweet Peeta was still there.

"Okay they. I'll be in your room tonight," he said happily.

**What did Katniss say? Hahaha. Sweet Peeta, I wish I was there. R&R please. Thank you.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's chapter 4. Again thank you for the reviews. Please enjoy this chapter too :D**

"Thank you," she crawled on the bed to reach him and kissed him softly on the lips.

Unwillingly, he pulled away, "What are you doing, Katniss? There are no cameras here."

"I know," she assured him. "I just wanted to kiss you."

Again, he chuckled and this time, louder and clearer, "I think you should go now."

"Yeah, sure," she agreed.

She slid down from the bed slowly, trying to make less noise so that nobody would know she was in his room. She walked towards the door and turned around, looking Peeta smile at her with a heart-melting smile. She noticed that her heart was beating fast and her legs were shaking so she clutched the door to keep her balance. _God, what was wrong with her today? She was being weak._

"See you tonight," she reminded him.

As she closed the door, she managed to see him smile through the gap between the door and the doorframe.

A few minutes later, she entered her room and opened her closet. All of her clothes were there. How long was she in Peeta's room that the Capitol worker had the time to put her stuff in her room? She didn't care, so she took her green tank top and black shorts and put them on fast. Then she walked towards the window and pulled the curtains aside and noticed it was already night time. She remembered when they arrived at District 4, it was already late afternoon. She wasn't hungry so she climbed onto her bed, pulled the blanket up to her chin and accidentally fell asleep without waiting for Peeta.

Not long after she fell asleep, the nightmare began. She was in the arena, body covered full of sweat and blood but the blood wasn't hers. Someone was laying on her, as if he was protecting her from something. She shoved the body away and saw his face. It was Peeta. She shook him hard to wake him.

"Peeta! Peeta, get up! Come on!"

She even slapped him but it was useless, she was hitting emptiness. He was dead. Tears fell onto her cheeks. She turned around to find some help but then she saw her mother, laid on the grass, unconscious and full of blood. Next to her was Gale, in the same condition. Under a tree on his east, she saw her sister, Prim, also in the same bloody condition.

There was a loud thud and a growling sound. She looked forward and saw a mutt with bloody hands, fangs prepare to bite and claws ready to open her skin.

She started to scream and trashed around until she lost her voice. She fell onto the ground when the mutt leaped towards her and everything went blank.

"Katniss! Hey, wake up! Katniss!" A calm, familiar voice echoed in her head.

**Sorry in this chapter I made Katniss a little weird cuz' she easily changed her attitude for Peeta and this chapter's a little short, I'm getting busy lately. R&R!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5's here! Umm… sorry I made things shorter than last time. But I'm sure you'll love this chapter.**

The moment she opened her eyes, she saw the blue eyes of Peeta, looking straight into her gray ones. Her cheeks were wet because of the falling tears. His face was full of concern for her, eyes wrinkled and full of worry. She immediately wrapped her arms around him and never let go as if he was her life. Her falling tears fell onto his T-shirt.

Peeta's hands rub against her back, calming her down. "Hey, it's okay. I've got you."

With her face pressed against his chest, she could only managed to nod to confirm him that she was fine.

He loosened his hold on her so that he could sit next to her. But she thought he was about to leave. To hold him there, she gripped his shirt with an iron-grip and pulled him back to the bed and lay beside her. She snuggled closer to his chest. He smelt like before, like a sweet cinnamon. The hem of her shirt hitched upwards and exposed her bare stomach a little. She was curious what if their bare skins touch against each other so she hesitantly pulled his shirt over his head. Her eyes opened wide to see how manly his body was: 6 pack abs, muscles gained by carrying those heavy bags full of flour and scars resulted by the games. She slowly ran her finger down through his hard abs, feeling the great pleasure of touching him which made her shudder. He thought she was cold so he pulled her nearer to keep her warm. His legs tangled with hers and this frustrated her, she untangled them and raised her left leg and laid it on his hip. He froze for what she did and blushed ferociously.

"Katniss, what are you doing?"

"I don't know," she whispered.

There was silence after that. "Let's just go to sleep, okay."

She yawned, "Okay."

She positioned her head and pressed it on his chest again and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling them together.

His hands were holding her waist; one of his fingers pulled the hem of her shirt a little and drew a circle on her exposed skin, sending a little spark of electric shock inside their bodies. Then they drifted into a deep, nightmare-less sleep.

**Did I interrupt the touchie-touchie scene? XP That's all for now. On the next chapter, Katniss' POV! R&R please :) **


	6. Author's notes

**Author's notes**

Thank you for all the reviews and for reading my stories, I really do appreciate it. Most of all I need to thank the original author of the Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins and the main characters, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. Suzanne is a very amazing author, I think everyone should read the trilogy. Peeta, stay cute and be my Boy with the Bread. Katniss, stay strong and be my role model. :D

Someone has asked me if I'm gonna write some sex scene and I'm gonna say maybe no, maybe yes. If you want me to, send me a PM and I'll try to write it. If you have any other suggestions, just tell me straight ahead and I'll try to make up to it. Thank you for your time. ;)

**-Debby**


	7. Chapter 6

**Okay, as I promised, from chapter 6 onwards, I would write Katniss' POV. Enjoy**

The next day, I woke up and found Peeta wasn't in my room. Was last night a dream? If it was, it was such a nice dream. Thinking like this brought up a smile on my face. However, it wasn't. I knew this when I felt Peeta's body heat still lingering on my hand. I raised it just a few inches from my face, thinking that this hand had touched his perfect, wonderful, manly body. I leaned forward and laid my face on my hand, closing my eyes and I inhaled. It smelt like him… That's when I heard a knock on the door.

"Hey, you're up already?" Haymitch asked as he entered my room.

"Yes," I responded, still smiling.

"Hmm. You look quite cheerful today. Did something happen last night after you left me injured at the hall?" He asked and he made a gesture of curiosity by rising one of his eyebrows and put a hand on his chin.

Getting annoyed, I got out of the bed and explained, "Nothing happened and for your information, you weren't injured, you were just got hit lightly on the waist and you deserved that."

He sighed heavily, "Alright, fine. You win. Now hurry up and get dressed. Everyone's waiting for you downstairs."

"Everyone?" I asked, confused.

"The tour. YOUR tour. Remember?"

Oh yeah. I was so into for what happened last night that I forgot what we were supposed to do here at District 4. I blinked several times and scratched my head. "Where's Peeta?" I asked now worried if he remembered what happened last night.

"He's already downstairs, waiting for you, in a very happy and cheerful state like you. God, I'm really wondering what happened last night. It's like he just had sex," he said while his eyes were exploring my room, hands on his waist.

I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came for the one word he just said: sex? It was impossible. I would never do anything that could lead to pregnancy or child birth and I knew that Peeta knew that too. I grabbed my pillow and threw it to Haymitch and he easily dodged it.

"Okay, get out of here," I said.

He turned around without a word and closed the door behind him.

I had a quick shower and I wore my blue short-sleeved T-shirt and my black jeans right after I came out of the bathroom. After combing my hair, I went downstairs and I saw Peeta talking to Cinna.

As if sensing me there, he turned his head and saw me standing at the stairs, "Well, look who's here; our Girl on Fire," he said and took my hand, pulling me down the stairs and bent down to kiss my forehead. "Good morning," he greeted me.

"Good morning," I replied, looking down because I was kinda shocked for his actions today, it was totally different than yesterday. Not that I wanted him to act cold to me again and he didn't.

"Ready to go?" Cinna asked.

"You're not going to turn me into some kind of doll today?" I asked back, curious because Peeta was only wearing his orange, half-rolled sleeved plaid shirt and pair of black jeans like mine.

"Not today, because today's only a tour at the towns. Tomorrow, you'll be touring again then you'll have some interviews from Effie and Caesar, so be prepared," he answered.

Then I heard a car stopped in front of the door of the building. To be exact, it wasn't only a car. It was a limo. Peeta held my hand tightly.

"Let's go," he said, smiling to me.

I nodded and just like when we arrived at the district, we took a deep breath and exited the door to start our tour together.

**How was it? I tried my best to imagine myself as Katniss. I hope you're satisfied for this :)**


	8. Chapter 7

**I apologize because I took a long time to update because I was brainstorming for the next chapters and so sorry I didn't write anything during the tour . To be honest I didn't write it because I didn't know how to describe it… so sorry. Anyway, here's chapter 7. :)**

~After the tour~

The moment we finished our tour, we returned to the Capitol Building. Before Peeta could walk to his room, I immediately stopped him by grabbing his arm. His head turned to me.

"Wanna go somewhere me?" I asked nervously.

He had a very confused face, "Why?"

"Don't worry. This time, it's not for the cameras," I promised, ignoring his question. To be honest I really wanted to go somewhere with him not for the cameras or anyone else. But just for us.

"Okay, sure," he agreed and his smile on his lips lightened up his exhausted face. "But where should we go? Cameras would be everywhere to take our pictures sneaking out."

"I know just exactly where we're going," I said confidently, raising a finger up in the air, "the forest."

He chuckled. Why did he keep on chuckling recently? His eyes looked away from me towards the door behind us. "Wow. Among all places, I never thought you'd pick the forest."

"Why?" I asked now curious.

"Remember during the games? I tried to walk silently but I kept on stepping on the tree branches and you were so mad and annoyed? I thought you'd never let me join you into the woods anymore," he explained.

I sighed and held both of his hands in mine. "That was for the games. And now it's just for us."

He grinned and squeezed my hands tightly. "Shall we?" He asked politely.

"Okay, let's go."

I opened the door and peered to make sure that no one would see because I didn't want any paparazzi following us. When the coast was clear, I dragged him out of the building and we made our way to the nearby forest. I had to admit, he was a great runner, with an artificial leg. I was sure that of he still had his real leg; he'd be faster than me. When we arrived at the forest, we stopped near a tree and panted, trying to catch our breath after the long run. He was leanig against the tree and me next to him.

"Are you… sure that… no one would… see us here?" He gasped.

"Would they dare to bring their precious cameras into a deep forest like this? I don't think so. Besides, they don't have enough experience to travel in the forest," I answered him.

I looked around to make sure that no one spotted us. I took a deep breath and inhaled the smell of the trees, grass, the air. Oh how I missed this place so much. This reminded me of the times that I used to have at District 12: hunting, with my best friend Gale. Gale... How was he? What was he doing today? I quickly shook my head hard enough to take my mind off him because this time was my time with Peeta, not him. I turned my head towards Peeta and now I realized that he had been watching me for a while.

"Sorry about that," I apologized.

"It's okay. Home sick, right?" He guessed correctly, putting his hands inside the pockets of his jeans.

I nodded, not wanted to talk about Gale because that would ruin this moment. "Come on, then," I said, taking his hand out of the pocket and pulled him deeper into the forest. This time, he walked silently and slowly, not wanted to make any noise. Well, he was succeeding. As a reward, I kissed his hand, that was when I heard the sound of waves of water. I released his hand and ran towards the sound and I felt Peeta chasing behind me.

"Katniss! What is it? Katniss!" He called.

I didn't answer him because that would disturb my concentration of tracking the sound. I kept on running until I came across some bushes. Behind those bushes, I saw a beautiful lake. Peeta finally caught up to me and I knew he was surprised as I was.

"Wow," he exclaimed.

"I know, right?" I agreed, using the words that I usually heard from the girls during the tour.

"Now I know why District 4 is the most wonderful district among all districts; it's because it has beaches and beautiful lakes."

I turned my head and faced him with a smile, "Yeah." I bent down and picked up some stones and threw them one by one into the water to make sure that there were no crocodiles or any other animals inside the water. After running out of stones, I assumed that the water was safe for us to take a swim.

"Wanna swim?" I asked him innocently.

He was quiet for a while, then he finally said, "I can't, Katniss. I don't know how to swim. Besides my leg isn't suitable for swimming."

I felt guilty for asking that. I looked at his left leg which was an artificial leg and nodded.

"You go on ahead. I'll sit here and look around," he said, "and make sure no one sees us," he added.

"Fine," I said, disappointed.

I started to pull my shirt over my head and pushed my jeans down slowly, revealing me only with my bra and underwear. I saw him turn his head towards the forest, he had a blush on his face. His hand was covering his mouth as if trying to stop himself from shouting. This somehow made me happy.

I jumped down into the water and dived deeper. The temperature was cold but suitable for the hot weather and the exhausting day. When I resurfaced, I saw him sitting cross-legged near the lake. It must be awful to wear those sweaty clothes after the tour. I decided to make him join me in the water, _but how? _Suddenly, I came up with something in my head.

**How was it? I hope you enjoyed that. XD Next will be hot and steamy, trust me :)**


	9. Chapter 8

**To LivingReminder, I did say that I'm gonna update yesterday, but something came out so I had no time to do it, so sorry. Chapter 8's here!**

I trashed around and made the water to splash, causing quite big waves and noise. "Peeta! Peeta! Help!" I screamed as I pretended to drown.

He noticed me drowning and stood up. Panic surrounded his face completely, but he still managed to think what he should do. He quickly unbuttoned his shirt and removed his shoes, threw them away and ran towards the water and jumped.

I knew it, he actually knew how to swim because he didn't show any sign of I-don't-know-how-to-swim. He swam excellently and fast. How and when did he learn this? As far as I remembered, there was no safe lake or lake at District 12 for him or anyone to swim because it was full of crocodiles. I guessed he learned this during the games. Guess the Hunger Games did teach him something important.

"I'm coming, Katniss!" He shouted as the water entered his mouth and he made a burbled sound.

I just continued to pretend until he came to me. He held my waist with his strong arms and raised me higher to the surface. I wrapped my arms around his neck and coughed the water out of my lungs, pretending of course.

"I've got you, it's okay," he said.

I accidentally coughed up a laugh when I saw him panic like this. I covered my smile with my left hand while my right arm was still wrapping around his neck. He noticed my reaction and knitted his eyebrows together, showing a blurred face.

"Got you," I said playfully, smiling.

That didn't amuse him, though. Instead he made that face he had when we were in the train to District 4. He turned his head to other direction and his eyes showed his the annoyance I made. _What have I done?_

"Sorry, Peeta. I didn't mean it," I apologized, gathering all my sincerity for it.

He ignored me and locked his eyes to the forest. Tears filled my eyes, I don't know why.

"Got you," he said, turning his head and faced me with a grin on his lips.

"That's not funny!" I yelled at him, hitting his chest with my fist lightly.

He just laughed, ignoring my attack on him. Without noticed, I laughed too.

"I'm sorry. Forgive me?" He said with those pleading blue eyes.

I stopped my heads and opened my fists; let them lay on his chest. "No. Forgive_ me_?" I said in a whisper.

"I forgive you," he forgave me with a sense of humor.

"I thought you didn't know how to swim," I pointed out.

"I don't," he said, "but when I saw you in danger, my body moved on its own and surprisingly I learned to swim myself."

I nodded and there was nothing to say next. We just stayed silent there in the water, looking at each other. His arms around my waist loosened, I grabbed them and put them back to where they were because I didn't want him to let me go so soon. I raised my head, looking at his eyes. There was nothing that could compare to those beautiful orbs which had the same blue colour as the lake.

As if hypnotized by them, I leaned towards him and pressed my lips against his soft ones. In my touch, he froze for a while, but slowly kissed me back and again, I felt that weird, unrecognizable but satisfying that I used to feel when we were in the cave during the games. But this time it spread to my whole body like a deadly poison.

Peeta pulled away too soon, so I grabbed his head. My fingers brushed his soft, wet blond hair and pulled him back to me and kissed him again. He lips lingered against mine with passion and powerful force. I moved my hand from his neck to his face and kissed him that we need to breathe, we pulled away and he rested his forehead against mine, breathing hard like me.

"We have to go," he said unwillingly.

"No," I protested, "not yet. I want you to kiss me again."

He granted my wish and once more pressed his lips hardly against mine. The desire to kiss him grew stronger and made me move my body closer to his. His arms that were on my waist tightened and raised me a little higher. Did our body heat got higher? I could feel the water turned warm.

I gasped between our kisses and this made him grow wild. He moved his hands lower to my thighs and raised my legs. I wrapped my legs around his waist and moved us closer to each other. Gently, he dragged us into the water and that was when I started not to see the underwater the same way anymore.

I didn't remember what happened next. But I woke up and found Peeta sleeping next to me near the the lake. I guessed we were tired after our kissing session... well, maybe more than that, I wasn't really sure what it was called... was it called make out? I didn't care. All I knew that the guy I was making out with was Peeta Mellark, my Boy With The Bread. And also... the man I love. It took me along time to realize it but it was better late than never.

I touched his cheek lightly and traced his lips with my thumb. He stirred and slowly raised his eyelids and finally looked at me with a wide smile.

"That was amazing," he said joyfully.

"Yeah," I said.

After a few minutes of rest, we put our clothes back on and made our way back to the town hand in hand. Then I saw a crowd of people gathered around a pole and I heard the sound of whipping and a familiar voice screaming. I ran along with Peeta to the crowd and I saw Gale, shirtless and his body was full of blood and injuries.

**Well, I hope you enjoyed the make out scene. It's my first time so I hope u can just accept it the way it is. Gale will appear in the next chapter! Read and review please :)**


	10. Chapter 9

**Please don't kill me for this chapter :(. To GalexKatniss fans I hope you enjoy this though. This chapter might be confusing for you cuz why is Gale at District 4 and some other stuff that will happen later.**

The moment I saw Gale's bloodied and sweaty body whipped by the middle-aged man. I unhanded my hand from Peeta's and ran towards him, blocking his attack on Gale with my back. The pain was unbearable… Imagining Gale received this kind of pain so many times would make him think this is hell. But I didn't mind, I kept on standing, protecting him there. When the sound of the whip stopped, I turned my head towards my back and saw some bloody cuts. I raised my head and saw Peeta stood in front of me, holding the whip tightly on his grip and there was blood pouring from a cut on his face. He protected me. Both Gale and I.

The man said, "Do you realize what you are doing?"

"Yes, I do. You're hurting both my fiancée and her cousin," Peeta said with an angry voice, "and now I'm protecting them."

Oh yeah, I forgot that Gale was my "cousin" now.

Peeta turned his head towards me. "Check on Gale, Katniss,"

I faced Gale and held his face in my hands. "Gale, are you okay?" I asked him in a whisper.

"C-catnip..?" He gasped, slowly raising his head to face me.

"Yeah, it's me," I assured him.

"Why did you hurt him?" I heard Peeta's voice behind me.

The man who introduced himself as Romulus Thread and confessed the reason he whipped Gale was because he was caught illegally hunting in the woods. He was about to continue his punishment on Gale when the people of District 4 begged him to stop. I know most of them did this was to make sure that the Capitol wouldn't hear about this and destroy the whole district like District 13. Or maybe some of them felt sorry for us.

When Haymitch arrived, he took us back to the Capitol Building and called my mother to treat Gale, Peeta and I. She and Gale had to stay here with us for a few days. Mother treated Gale first then me, but I asked her to treat Peeta first because it was my fault that he got hurt too. She disagreed because my wounds were worse than his and I couldn't say anything more. That night I visited Gale in his room, he was laying on the bed with his body covered with bandages. I sat on the chair next to his bed and held his hand. He stirred and opened his eyes slowly.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey..." he responded weakly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"What were you doing here in District 4 anyway? And why were you hunting here while you can hunt in District 12?"

He was silent for and finally he answered, "I came here to find you, Catnip. I want to take you back to District 12 and live the way you used to have with me, hunt with me and do other things with me. And not live under the Capitol's rules."

This really confused me and so I asked, "Why, Gale? Why are you doing this for me?"

"Because I love you," he said, tightening his grip on my hand.

Those three words really shocked me and I froze there. Flashbacks of my life with Gale rushed into my mind in an instant. Memories of us being together for such a long time made me realize something important. "I..."

"I know you love me too, Catnip," he said.

Yes, I do but I also loved Peeta. But Gale had been my friend for such a long time and accompanied me in all those years, holding back the feelings he had for me. That's when I decided something in my head. I leaned towards him and placed my mouth near his ear.

"I love you too, Gale," I whispered on his ear.

He moved closer to me, smiling then he pressed his lips against mine, gently and softly. I kissed him back and knotted my fingers in his hair. We pulled back when we ran out of air. He slowly drifted back to sleep when the effects of the medicines that mother gave him took over his body. I stayed there with him and stayed awake for the whole night. I heard something behind me and I turned around.

I saw Peeta standing behind the room's door with a sad expression on his face. His lips were barely open and I saw his right hand's grip on the door and his left hand tightened. I had the feeling he was watching us for the whole time.

"Peeta..." I gasped.

He walked away and I jumped from the chair and released Gale's hand silently and ran out of the room. I chased Peeta in the hall, calling his name, "Peeta! Wait!"

He didn't respond my call, instead he quickened his pace.

With no other choice, I ran as fast as I could, finally caught up to him and stopped by wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Peeta... I..." I panted. "I'm sorry..."

He faced me with an expressionless face. "For what, Katniss?"

"For what you saw."

"I don't get it. Why did you come for me after declaring your love for Gale?"

"Because..." I hesitated though I already know the answer.

"Who cares anyway?" He snapped while he loosened my arms around him and let them fall on my sides. "As long as you're happy with him, I'm fine," he said with a sad voice and walked away with his hands in his jeans pockets.

"Peeta!" I called behind him and no answer came from him. I just heard the echo of my voice in the hall.

**Once again, please don't kill me .". This will get better for Katniss and Peeta, trust me. Read and review please thank you :)**


	11. Chapter 10

**I know I haven't updated anything for so long. Sorry about that, I was having a school trip at England and France for 17 days and I didn't have the time to continue my story. So yeah, chapter 10 is here and I hope you guys enjoy it :D**

After Peeta left me alone in the hall, I ran upstairs, entered my room and slammed the door, probably woke up everyone in the building. I jumped onto my bed, covered my face with my pillow to stop the tears from falling out of my eyes. _What have I done? _I've hurt Peeta twice, maybe more than that but this time it hurt him so badly and I wondered if I'd do hurt him again. I couldn't hold it in anymore and finally I let the traitorous tears to betray me and they fell towards my cheeks, wetting my pillow.

I cried myself to bed and oddly I didn't have any nightmare, maybe because I had enough troubles during the day; Gale got punished because of me, Peeta was heart-broken because of me and there might be a rebel because of me. Noticed that I couldn't get back to sleep because I kept on thinking about them for too long, I decided to go to the roof where Peeta and I used to hang out together. It was like a second home for me. I jumped out of the bed, silently sneaked out of my room and walked towards the door which exits to the roof. When I climbed the stairs, I could already hear the sound of cars honking. As I reached the top, I saw him leaning at the railings. He was wearing a black V-neck shirt with blue jeans and his face was visible because of the lights from the streets. I was confused whether I should go to him or leave him. My feet had its own mind and instinctively I walked and stood next to him but my head was facing towards the other direction, not ready to look at him. My hands were shaking at my sides. I clasped them to stop the shaking but it didn't help.

"What's up?" I heard him whisper to me.

"Nothing," I say, still not facing him.

"The nightmares?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I'm sorry," he started, "for leaving you at the hall like that."

I looked at him with a shocked face. He was apologizing_. _For what?The one who should apologize to him was me. _Me!_ Still, I didn't say anything.

"I was overreacting and I couldn't control what I was saying and what I was doing," he continued. "It must really hurt your feelings."

My feelings? But what about his feelings? Had he never thought about it? All I knew was he never think about himself first, he thinks about other people first. His unselfishness was so touching that I had to bit my lip to stop myself from crying.

"Peeta, I-"

"No. You don't have to say anything," he stopped me. "I told you once already, didn't I? If you're happy with Gale, it's fine with me. I will let you go for your happiness. Because your happiness is my happiness." He smiled and looked at me with an almost happy gaze.

He extended his hand to me and I thought he'd touch my cheek and kiss me for one last time. Instead he laid his palm on top of my head and patted it. Then he lowered his hand down and gently brushed away a strand of hair on my face. Slowly he walked towards the door and I stood there, frozen like a stone. I caught a glimpse of his sad face when he walked past through me.

I waited for the tears to come out again, but nothing came. My chest hurt so much that I can barely hold it any longer. But how come my tears didn't fall? I thought my eyes were tired enough to cry. I fell onto my knees and next I found myself kneeling at the roof. My head was spinning then I fell unconscious, the last thing I saw was Peeta running to me until darkness consumed me entirely and I felt two strong arms carried me.

I woke up at my bed and my head was still a little dizzy. I held my head and forced myself to remember what happened last night. All I could remember was Peeta talking to me and he ran to me as I fell unconscious. Or was it just me imagining things? But the most important thing was who brought me back to my room. Could it be Gale? No, probably not, he was even too weak to walk around with his wound. Peeta? Yeah, could be, based on my memory of last night.

I slowly jumped out of the bed, had a shower then I went downstairs with my sleeve-less shirt and black shorts. I entered the dining room and saw Peeta sitting alone on one of the chairs.

**Phew. Finally I finished this chapter. Review please :)**


	12. Final chapter

**Bad news for everyone who likes this story because this is the last chapter. So sorry, school is extremely busy and I still have lots of assignments to do. I tried my best to make this chapter so I hope you really enjoy it.**

Peeta was sitting with his chin laid on the back of his left hand. He was staring at the wooden table as if he was studying something. I remembered that his gaze right now was the same gaze he had whenever he draws which I loved to look at. I just stood there beside the wall, watching him. He sighed and slowly stood up. I finally saw a bandage on his left cheek which was covering the cut that he received by protecting me and Gale from Thread's whip. How in the world I never noticed that last night? At first he was staring at the window in the dining room, and then he turned around and froze when he saw me.

We stood there in silence, staring at each other.

"I-I…" I muttered.

He opened his mouth slightly. I thought he was about to tell me to go away. After all I did to him, I was sure that he wouldn't want to see me again. Instead he said, "Good morning, Katniss."

I couldn't say anything. I caught a glimpse of the clock behind him. It was already 12. Then I took a glimpse at the table. On the table, there were breads and cup of hot chocolate, my favorites. It wasn't possible for them to be served at this time. So what were they doing here?

"I thought you'd never come downstairs," he said.

Did he serve them? Probably yes, because nobody knew they were my favorite, except mother, Prim and Peeta. And… was he waiting for me?

He must have noticed me looking at the foods so he raised his hand and held mine, pulling me to the table.

"Sit down and eat. You haven't eaten since yesterday," he stated.

It was true. My stomach was grumbling, I blushed and sat down next to him. I gobbled the food hungrily and slurped the hot chocolate quickly. I winced when the liquid burned my tongue.

Peeta snatched the cup from me and carefully put it on the the table. "Slow down," he said.

I looked at him nervously while I use my hand to fan my burning tongue. He smiled and reached up to place his thumb on the side of my mouth and pushed a crumb of bread away. I was really surprised of his never ending love affection towards me, after he saw me choosing Gale over him.

"How can you stand it?" I asked, placing the rest of the bread on its plate.

"What?" He responded, completely confused of my question.

"How can you stand on my selfishness and evil?"

He stared at the bread and stayed like at that for a few minutes, thinking. Then he sighed, "I don't know, Katniss. You lied to me during the Games then you broke my heart. You chose Gale over me."

He said all those horrible things that I did to him as gently as he could, it hurt me so bad. But this pain was nothing compared to the pain he felt.

"It hurt me so bad," he continued, still staring at the wooden table. "But I'd feel like the sickest bastard if I just leave you alone in this shitty game."

I was startled with his way of speaking just now. Usually he speaks with a sweet, polite tone.

"Besides, I love you. I know you're sick of that. But I just want you to listen to it directly from me," he said, looking straight into my gray eyes with his blue ones.

My heart was moved with those three words he just said. It was the first time he said he loved me, not for the Games but for me. Instinctively, I stood up and caught his face with my hands and pressed my lips against his.

The kiss started normally as a touch between lips. Then he kissed me back with so much passion and slowly opened his mouth. I did the same thing. My tongue traced his lower lip and I moaned.

He flinched and pulled away. I grabbed his head and let it stay there and I kissed him more ferociously. I didn't want to end this kiss, not ever. He unlocked my hands from his head gently. We both breathed heavily, out of air.

"No, Katniss," he panted.

I shook my head and leaned into him for another kiss. But he stopped me by grabbing my shoulders and pushed me away.

"I said no," he said harshly.

Tears flooded in my eyes and I flung my arms around his neck. At first, he hesitated but finally wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed my head against his strong chest.

"I'm so sorry, Peeta," I sobbed. My tears soaked his shirt like black ink on a piece of white paper.

"Shh... It's okay, it's okay," he rocked me back and forth. He was so kind, so gentle, so sweet and I so didn't deserve him even though I lived for a thousand years. Yet I couldn't stop myself from wanting him though I already chose Gale. I tipped my head upwards and my lips brushed his jaw. I wanted to kiss him so badly so I tiptoed to touch his lips with mine. I knew he'd push me again so before he could do that, I whispered between our kiss, "Please Peeta. Let me kiss you. Even though this is gonna be our last kiss."

I was ready for his final 'no' but instead he pushed me against the wall and gave me a kiss full on the mouth. His body was pressed against mine and my hands were locked above my head with his left hand. His other free hand softly caressed my cheek while kissing. He stopped the kiss to catch some air then returned the kiss. I slid my hands from his grasp and slid them inside his shirt. I traced his hard stomach carefully. I felt him suck his breath.

"Let's stop this, Katniss. You are going to regret it," he said.

"I don't care," I growled. Nothing will stop this moment between me and Peeta. Not Gale, not the Capitol, not Snow. No one.

"But Gale-" he started.

"I don't care about him anymore," I simply said. That was true, I didn't care about anything else than Peeta. "I'll just tell him that I chose you."

"But why?"

"Because I love you, Peeta. This time it's not fake, it's real. I really love you."

He smile so widely and kissed me with more passion, it sent me sweet sensations throughout my body. His hands slowly slid from my shoulders to my waist then to my hips. Then he wrapped my legs around his waist. My arms were around his neck. His lips moved from my lips to my jaw then to my neck. I moaned again but this time louder and I was afraid if someone would hear us.

As if hearing my thoughts, Peeta walked towards the stairs and climbed up without breaking the kiss and we entered my room. He laid me on the mattress and crawled on top me. His kiss was frightening but somehow I enjoyed when the hunger during in the cave and the lake overtook me again. I reached the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. It ended up laying on the floor. It was Peeta's turn when he lifted my shirt from my body. He stared at my body and I covered it because I didn't want him to see my ugly scars. He grabbed my arms and looked at me with his eyes full of love.

"No. Let me see you, Katniss," he said.

He separated my arms and pressed them on either side of my head. His eyes trailed my body and so was his hand, it drew circles on the spot where my heart was. I raised my body and my left hand went to my back and unclipped my bra. I tossed it to the other side of the bed. At first he just stared at me then he grinned and returned his soft lips to mine. The only thing that separated us was our underpants.

His left hand traced my face then to the waistband of my shorts. He stopped there as if waiting for my permission. I caught his belt and unbuckled it. He seemed to get it so he slowly pushed my shorts down and threw it away then my panties were gone too. I nibbled his lower lips when I pushed his jeans with my legs. Our breathes were getting ragged as soon as I reached his boxer's waistband. He held my hands and laid them on my sides, and threw his remaining clothes somewhere in my room. His lips left mine then trailed my neck, down to my shoulder and gently sucking my skin. Then he positioned himself between my legs and began thrusting.

The pain was unimaginable, but was soon replaced by a blissful sensation and it spread to my whole body. At first his movement was slow but I assured him that I was fine by locking his neck with my arms and kissed him full on the mouth. That was when he sped up and eventually we made a rhythm. Sweat glistened against his body and his breathing was getting ragged and I felt that I had reached my limits, I knew that he knew about it so he decided to give me one last thrust. A few minutes later, we laid next to each other, tired more than ever then fell asleep.

I woke up when the sunlight shone and Peeta was awake before me. He wrapped his arms around me. "Wow, Katniss," he said, smiling.

I smiled as well, "Yeah, wow."

"Thank you for last night."

"Your very welcome, Peeta."

He pressed my head against his strong chest and we stayed like that until our stomach growled. He kissed me then got out of the bed first, put his clothes on and proceeded to the door. Before he could leave, he turned around and smiled, "I love you, Katniss."

With no doubt I answered him, "I love you too."

When he closed the door behind him. I took my shower and went downstairs to have some breakfast. As I expected, Peeta was already with everyone; Haymitch, Cinna, Portia and our prep members. Their faces were full of disappointment. I wondered what had happened so I walked to stand next to Peeta. "What happened?" I asked.

He slipped his hand into mine and entwined our fingers together. He looked at me with eyes full of sadness. "I'm sorry, Katniss."

Why did he apologize? What the hell just happened? Haymitch stood up and walked in front us.

"You two are going to go back to the arena. You will join the third Quarter Quell in order to celebrate the 75th Hunger Games," he slowly told us.

I was too shocked that I couldn't say anything. I just squeezed Peeta's hand and prayed to God that nothing will happen to any of us.

**I'm so so sorry it had to end this way. I don't know if I'll write a sequel of this story. Thank you for reading. Reviews are love :)**


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